Journal Notes—February 2018

by Michael Hamline, Editor/ Published February 2018

       FLCAJ kicks off the February issue with the article “Welcome to the Board.” On page 10, there is a collection of brief, inform-ative articles that aim to educate members of the board on important aspects of their responsibilities. The following items are addressed: indoor air quality, asphalt paving projects, legal requirements for board members, project loans, adequate insurance coverage, Wi-Fi thermostats, hiring contractors, repainting projects, leaking roofs, roof replacement, LED lighting, bat relocation, changing your documents, emergency preparedness, eroding shorelines, railing replacement, fiduciary duty, educational resources, trash chutes, pipe systems, property maintenance, overstepping a board’s authority, and procuring a line of credit.

      In Kathy Danforth’s article “Hurricane Hindsight: The Insurance View” on page 6, Wayne Howell with Herbie Wiles Insurance talks about the lessons learned from the 2017 hurricane season. One of those he notes is, “If you’re going to have a hurricane, it’s probably better to be the first state to have one.” As Floridians know, Hurricane Harvey which deluged Houston, Texas, preceded Hurricane Irma’s strike on Florida. This meant that many of the adjusters and contractors were in Texas helping out, and so it made for a backlog of cases and a longer recovery time. Howell also notes that Irma was more of a flood event and has exposed misconceptions many communities have about the necessity to have flood insurance, which is not covered under a property policy. His article is a must-read to prepare for disasters in 2018, though we hope Florida will be spared.

       Don’t fail to read Backer, Aboud, Poliakoff & Foelster’s question and answer column by Ryan Poliakoff on page 32, which deals with covenant enforcement and statute of limitations as well as financial audits. Also, Michael Gelfand, Esq., of Gelfand & Arpe writes on page 42 about a case that has effects on a community’s collections process; and Brie Peterson with Envera Systems lays out several important steps to take to have basic security in place for your community on page 48.

       FLCAJ looks forward to being your most helpful resource in 2018, and we are thankful for your service, and we wish you the best as you serve your community this year.

Editor